FIFA Street brilliantly depicts the beautiful game in a cosy, informal setting. With the game’s focus on quick-paced action, step-overs and tricks, fun is guaranteed with short bursts of street football played on a variety of pitches all over the world.
Gameplay
EA’s done a huge favour towards polishing FIFA Street’s image by recognizing the customer’s demand for a mature, sensible game — don’t get me wrong here, FIFA Street is still an exaggerated, flashy football with way too much trickery, but now it feels like the game isn’t aimed at seven-year-olds alone. The tricks and street-smartness displayed by players is a lot more realistic and believable. The impetus on tricks is huge in FIFA Street — game loading screens inform you of the most basic combos to flaunt your skills. But as you play through various game scenarios, you’ll realize that you can pull of deceptive feints, shoulder drops, fake shots, nutmegs, and a whole lot else, by clicking key combos. This can be complicated and frustrating at times, but nothing you can’t get past by enough practice.
The game offers different type of street exhibition matches — Five a side, Futsal, Panna, Last Man Standing, etc. — each of these unique in their own way and loads of fun. We highly recommend playing the career mode called World Tour which involves creating a character and team which competes in local competitions, slowly broadening its geographical reach to become a celebrated street football force to be reckoned with. The customization options are immense right from creating your player to choosing your club colours and kit. Under each tournament and individual games, you can select difficulty levels to compete for Bronze, Silver or Gold achievements. Winning each of these unlocks special items for your character’s wardrobe and trophy case. The World Tour also forces you to change the way you play to ensure there’s never a dull moment on the horizon. It’s just immensely rewarding.
Another thing to note, FIFA Street favours an attacking style of football, you can’t possibly defend for the whole length of a match — which by default lasts for six minutes. The game focuses a lot on individual skills and dribbling prowess, not to mention quick passes and shots to get an edge over your opponents. Scoring from anywhere on the pitch is possible, and overall the gameplay is just fantastic.
Graphics and Sound
Player likeness’ are much the same as FIFA 12, if not a bit more polished. Props to EA for associating Messi with FIFA Street, the best player in the world with quick feet and amazing skills. We were blown away by the staggering array of street football locations featured in the game — from converted basketball courts and shipping docks to a fenced-off piece of road under a flyover, even a floating pitch on a canal in Venice — the sights and sound from all of these places really adds to the atmosphere of the game. And yes, the graffiti covered walls all around are nice to look at as well.
You can hear players shouting instructions at each other while battling it out on the pitch, the crowd gathered around to watch is pleasantly animated and cheer or taunt in typical street fashion. What’s more, FIFA Street has a good soundtrack with peppy, lively tracks that fit in just right, heightening the overall fun quotient of the game. We are very happy with the overall presentation of the game in FIFA Street, it really brings out the true spirit of grassroots football unlike any previous attempts.
Online
FIFA Street’s online gameplay is largely the same as FIFA 12’s with one key benefit. Props to EA for ensuring the game’s online exploits are tied into EA Sports Football Club — this lets you earn rewards in exchange for XP points not only in FIFA Street but any other game that supports Football Club feature, for e.g. FIFA 12. Heading online and connecting to EA’s servers was pretty quick and we rarely faced any issues either while setting up matches or navigating the online menu. Nothing to complain here.
Verdict
Should you buy FIFA Street? If you’re a fan of the FIFA franchise, then this is a no-brainer, but even for relative newcomers to the title the answer is an overwhelming yes. The short, quick burst of action and excitement captured in one game of FIFA Street is arguably better than a game in FIFA 12. In any case, FIFA Street is definitely the best title in the series, which truly lets you have fun with the game. Sure, executing tricks can be difficult for some but practice makes it perfect. Whether you play it solo or entertain friends during a house party, FIFA Street is well worth its four year wait and will definitely have you hooked on to it in no time.
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
Genre: Sports, Simulation
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
ESRB Rating: E
Price: Rs. 2,799 (PlayStation 3), Rs. 2,799 (Xbox 360)
Reviewed on: PlayStation 3